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The Shpageeza Cricket League 2024 saw two matches taking place on Wednesday (August 14) at Kabul. The Boost Defenders secured a thrilling Super Over win against Band-e-Amir Dragons and Mis Ainak Knights dominated the Speen Ghar Tigers.
The Knights continued their winning momentum in the tournament, and climbed to the top position in the table.
After the loss, the Dragons are at the second position in the points table with two wins in three games. Meanwhile, the Defenders have won both their games and are in third place. Meanwhile, the Sharks and Tigers are fourth and fifth, respectively, with no wins in two games.
On that note, let’s take a look at what transpired in both games on Wednesday.
Boost Defenders hold their nerves to seal a Super Over win; Mis Ainak Knights climb to top of the table
In the first game, Band-e-Amir Dragons invited the Boost Defenders to bat first. The experienced Mohammad Shahzad (46 off 32) provided the side with a good start, but other batters could not convert their starts.
The final flourish from Gulbadin Naib (30 off 19) and Fareed Ahmed (18* off 5) boosted the Defenders to a formidable total of 179 on the board. Aftab Alam was the pick of the bowlers for the Dragons with three scalps.
In response, Riaz Hassan (54 off 40) and Sediqullah Atal (33 off 24) stitched together an impressive 92-run opening stand for the Dragons. However, the middle-order could not respond well to the required run rate. Sediqullah Pacha (23 off 14) and Nangeyalia Kharote (24 off 15) tried well, but the Dragons could only draw level the scores. Bashir Ahmad took two wickets for the Defenders.
In the Super Over, Najibullah Zadran slammed two fours to seal a 13-run target and helped the Defenders in winning the game.
The second game saw Speen Ghar Tigers bat first against the Mis Ainak Knights. The Tigers were off to a bad start as they lost four wickets inside the powerplay overs. Tariq Stanikzai (21) and Ikram Alikhil (19) were the key contributors as they were bundled out for 105. Zia-ur-Rehman and Wahidullah Zadran picked up two wickets apiece for the Knights.
In response, the Knights lost their openers in the first two overs. However, Wafiullah Tarakhil led the charge in handsome fashion, as he smoked 77* off 38 balls, with six fours and seven sixes to help the Knights seal the chase under 13 overs.
